Reliving by Books: Reading the Hunger Games
by Dream Out Loud 18
Summary: The children of the star-crossed lovers of District 12 find interesting books about their parents' mysterious past...just in time for a reunion among friends done every year. Will they read the books with them or just keep silence about it and read it alone? First book of my "Reliving by Books" series. PROLOGUE UP


**Helloooo, readers of the Hunger Games fandom. With Catching Fire coming in November, I've been reading more fanfics of this fandom, and I've only encountered two stories of reading the books, and they occur before the events happen. So I just got thinking of doing this - a story of reading the books after the events happen. I hope you enjoy!**

**Prologue**

The day started out with a beautiful sunrise, rays of light hitting the clean road, reflecting against a window, bringing life with the awakening of the birds, who began to chipper.

That's how Jasmine Mellark awoke on that important day. The sixteen-year-old yawned, blinking open her blue eyes as sunlight infiltrated her room. She sat up, rubbing her dark hair sleepily.

Jasmine was a girl who came from a...remarkable family. She was the daughter of Peeta and Katniss Mellark, two victors of the Hunger Games and heroes of the rebellion. Jasmine knew all this, but she couldn't understand it fully what it was about. School didn't like to talk about it, as most of the teachers were survivors of such events, so she could excuse that. But still, she wanted to know _more_.

Anyways, back to the point, Jasmine got ready for the day. She scratched Buttercup, her old cat, behind the ears, before standing up and stretching. She took a quick shower and got dressed, pulling her hair back into a ponytail as she went downstairs. The only other person awake was her mother, Katniss Mellark, who was hauling in game from the snares in the woods.

"Morning, Mom." Jasmine kissed Katniss's cheek, helping her pull in the kill.

"Good morning, Jasmine." Katniss started to clean a rabbit in the kitchen. "How was your sleep?"

"Good." Jasmine knew better then ask her mother - and father, for that matter - how _their_ sleep was like. "Is some of the game for lunch?"

"Some." Katniss handed her a knife and Jasmine began to gut a squirrel. "Are you still unsure about hunting with me?"

Jasmine laughed. "Yes, Mom - besides, Rye shoots much better than I do. Continue hunting with him. I'll stay home with Dad and paint."

Katniss smiled, and they continued the small talk. The relationship between mother and daughter was a lot better than to see from the eyes - Jasmine inherited her calm and nice self from her father, but the temper of her mother. Katniss was there for Jasmine if she went through a rough patch in her daughter's life, and Jasmine was there to hold her mother on a certain date every year when Katniss would just hug Buttercup and cry.

"Look at you too." Peeta Mellark entered the kitchen, wrapping his arms around both women. He kissed Jasmine's cheek and stole a kiss from Katniss. "What a nice sight to see in the morning - my two girls gutting animals."

Jasmine giggled. "Good morning, Dad." Peeta just smiled and took out two loaves a bread. Peeta Mellark was an extremely important man in Jasmine's life He taught her how to bake, and how to paint. When he got an episode, between her mother and herself, they could calm him down.

The little family arranged the breakfast. Jasmine glanced at the ceiling. "Want me to wake up Rye?" she offered.

Katniss shook her head. "He was up nearly all night just to get that wild turkey for today." She gestured to the refrigerator in which the dead animal was stored. "Just bring up his breakfast later and let him have the luxury _once_."

Jasmine nodded, and they ate in a comfortable silence. "Well, I have to go open the bakery," Peeta finally said, standing up. Katniss did as well, shouldering the bag of game she had, and asked Jasmine, "Will you and your brother clean around the house where you think it's needed for the visitors today?"

"Sure, Mom." Jasmine kissed both of her parents on the cheek. "Love you." She grabbed a plate and headed up to her brother's room. She opened the door and headed towards the bed. She shook the boy in the bed awake. "Get up, Rye."

"I'm up," Rye muttered sleepily, blinking at his sister.

Fourteen-year-old Rye Mellark was a peculiar person. With his blond hair, he resembled greatly to his father, but his gray eyes that swept over the place gave everyone the impression he is like his mother - and they guessed correctly. To his silent stride, to his accuracy with a bow and arrow, to his melodic singing voice, he was much more like Katniss than Peeta - but the bond between father and son was close and strong. They would exchange jokes and would find the good in people.

"Congrats on the wild turkey." Jasmine started to rummage around, tossing Rye a shirt and pants. "Get dressed and eat quickly. We have cleaning to do."

Rye tried to groan around the food in his mouth as he changed. "Why? It's not like they'll go to, say, the attic. They will stay until tomorrow morning, they won't have a chance to look around."

"Rye, it's the anniversary of the rebellion, it's hard enough for Mom and Dad as it is." She sighed. "Let's just clean the living room and attic. Those are the real places that need the cleaning, and I have a feeling we need to clean that dusty attic for once."

The anniversary of the rebellion. It was a holiday, but the Mellark family, who was expected to celebrate it with flourish, would only invite some friends that lived in the other districts. These friends would come in train by noon, spend the afternoon together and night, and then they would leave in the morning. Jasmine and Rye would sometimes beg for them to stay, but it was rare if they would accept.

"Who do you think is coming?" Rye asked Jasmine, arranging the living room to order.

"The same people who come every year." Jasmine rolled her eyes, and fluffed the pillows on the sofa. "Finn and Aunt Annie, and Aunt Johanna. Grandpa Haymitch will come over, too, like every year."

Of course, Annie wasn't really their aunt, nor was Johanna. And Haymitch definitely wasn't their grandfather. But Haymitch was godfather of both kids, and Annie was Jasmine's godmother while Johanna was Rye's, so they didn't see why they couldn't include them in the family.

"Well, yeah, but Aunt Johanna sometimes doesn't come," Rye pointed up, throwing away garbage found under the coffee table. "Talking about people who are bound to come...shouldn't you be preparing yourself for Finn?"

Jasmine blushed. "Shut up Rye." She stood. "Let's go to the attic."

*::*::*

The attic was a dusty place, hardly touched by the Mellarks. Stuff that was of no usage to them was thrown in here. That is why it was taking forever for the two Mellark kids to clean it.

"At this rate we won't even be able to greet them in the station," Jasmine huffed, stepping on another spider.

"You just want to run up to Finn all dramatically and jump into his arms and share a passionate kiss," Rye teased, then coughed as he slammed a box on top of the other and dust came out flying.

Jasmine's cheeks colored. "Do not," she huffed. "Finn's just a friend, I don't know where you get these ideas about me liking hi-_Ah_!" She pulled her finger back, sucking on the small drop of blood that came with it, and then said, "I pricked my finger against something. Help me move this."

Rye rose an eyebrow but helped anyways, moving piles of boxes back to reveal another box, smaller, but with an unmistakable pin of a mockingjay on top of it. "This must have been what I pricked my finger with." Jasmine grabbed it and rubbed off all the dirt. She frowned.

"Hey, wasn't Mom's symbol in the rebellion a mockingjay?" Rye asked, taking the pin from her and looking at it curiously. Jasmine could only nod, and then opened the box. She was expecting memorables - a plaque, maybe, or a medal - but the first thing she saw was dresses.

"Dresses?" Rye echoed his sister's thoughts. But Jasmine rubbed the fabric, entranced by their beauty and feeling, before taking them out to look at later. The next thing she saw was tapes, labelled as the Hunger Games. She hesitated, but pushed them aside. Her parents didn't want them to watch them if it was in the attic, so she'd respect that.

The last thing that was in the box were...books. She took them out slowly. It was only three, and medium-sized. She passed one to Rye wordlessly, looking at the titles. "This one's called _Catching Fire_, and this other one _Mockingjay_. What's the one you have called?"

Rye read out the title in a monotone: "_The Hunger Games_."

"You don't think..." Jasmine did a quick scan of the back of the books. "Oh my god. These are. These are the books about the Hunger Games and the role our parents played in it."

Rye looked up from the book and the pin quickly. "You think so?"

"I know so." Jasmine was confident now. "We can know, Rye...we can finally find out. What part our parents played to this freedom we know have. Haven't you ever wanted to know how it felt?"

"Of course." Rye rubbed the mockingjay. "But we should read them _with_ our parents. And probably Aunts Annie and Johanna. Grandpa. Finn."

"Why?" Jasmine frowned. "Mom and Dad will kill us if they find this. They put it here for a reason."

"Well, yeah, but think about it. Our parents, along with our aunts and grandfather, haven't gotten over that experience they went through. Finn's never met his father and he's bound to be in these books. They might finally accept it. Hell, maybe even the nightmares will stop."

Jasmine was silent. "Alright," she finally said. "We'll read it with them. But mention it after lunch, alright? Let them enjoy it." As if on cue, they could hear the door opening and closing, along with the added footsteps of their friends. "Come on, that's enough cleaning. Let's go meet with our family."

*::*::*

Finn Odair grinned at them as they went downstairs. "Thought something bad had happened when you two didn't appear at the train station."

"We were just cleaning." Rye shrugged, fingering the pin in his pocket. "How are you, Finn?"

"Great, great." The nineteen-year-old gave Rye a one-arm hug, which Rye returned. "And how are you, Jazzy?"

Jasmine just rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'm fine, Finn." She hugged him, and stuck out her tongue at Rye who made smooching faces.

Finn Odair, according to his mother, is a replica of his father. Jasmine thought that his father (also a legendary victor, Finnick Odair, who died in the rebellion) must've looked like a god then - with his fit body, bronze hair, beautiful sea green eyes, Finn was the image of perfection. She had liked him since she was 13, but that didn't stop him from being her best friend.

Finn's mother, Annie Odair, just smiled as she hugged both kids. "You both grew," she said softly, looking at them.

"Hi, Aunt Annie." The kids knew that today was a hard day for their aunt - the anniversary of the rebellion meant the anniversary of the rebellion her dead husband would never celebrate. Katniss and Annie shared that and would often comfort each other.

Rye craned his neck. "Aunt Johanna didn't come this year?" His face fell. He was particularly close to Johanna - not just because she was his godmother, but because he knew she'd tell him the truth if he asked a question and he liked being sarcastic with her.

"She's coming," Peeta assured his son. "She called. Asked if she could bring someone along. I told her it was fine. She should be coming in a while. District 7 may be far away, but the trains are fast."

"Oh." Rye brightened. They arranged the lunch and waited for Haymitch. As if on cue, the man entered, actually sober for once.

"Grandpa Haymitch!" Jasmine hugged him tightly. Haymitch murmured a hello and patted her back, his lips twitching towards a smile. They all sat and ate, catching up and laughing, while Jasmine and Rye tried to not let anything slip.

*::*::*

After lunch, the seven of them sat in the living room, drinking tea or hot chocolate (or in Haymitch's case, liquor). Jasmine elbowed Rye in the side, gesturing to her parents. "Tell them," she murmured. "I'll get the books."

"What books?" Finn, who had overheard, asked, leaning over. Unfortunately, everyone heard. Four other heads turned to their direction. Jasmine blushed under all the stares and slipped away, going up the stairs and coming back with three books. Katniss's breath caught.

"Um...Mom...Dad...other 'family' members..." Rye cleared his throat. "Jasmine and I were cleaning the attic like you asked us, Mom, and we found a box. And this was on top of it." He took out the mockingjay pin. Katniss bit her lip and Peeta wrapped an arm around her. "We know the mockingjay was the symbol of the rebellion. And out of curosity, we opened the box." He bit his lip. "We found some dresses and tapes, but the most peculiar was the books. Are they really about your adventures, Mom?"

Katniss slowly nodded. "They...they asked me to write it all down," she murmured. "Only I couldn't find the words. So your father helped me find the words and we wrote it all down. They published only those copies, but by then I decided I didn't want anyone reading them and hid them in the attic."

"Mom." Jasmine slid over and grabbed her hand. "We know you, and Dad, and Aunt Annie and Grandpa Haymitch haven't gotten over what happened to you. But maybe...maybe reading about it, all of you can overcome it. Accept it. Embrace it."

"She's right," Peeta murmured in Katniss's ear. "I don't want to force you into anything, but it might help."

"I..." Katniss's throat caught, so she slowly nodded. She couldn't deny her daughter anything. She couldn't blame her for wanting to find out. "Let's read."

Jasmine smiled in relief and kissed her forehead. "I'll start." She grabbed the first book and was about to read the title when the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Johanna." Rye stood up and opened the door and grinned widely. "Aunt Johanna!" He hugged her tightly, and Johanna pat his back, chuckling. "I missed you too, kiddo."

"I'm fourteen." Rye pouted. "Stop calling me a kiddo."

"To me you'll always be that itty bitty baby." Johanna rolled her eyes. "Get used to it."

Rye sighed and then noticed the man behind her. "Um, Aunt Johanna, who is that guy behind you who looks like Mom?"

"He should be introduced inside. But he's my...domestic partner." Johanna nodded awkwardly. "Gonna invite us in?"

Rye nodded slowly and looked at the man critically, leading them inside and towards the living room. "Dad, the person Aunt Johanna brought along is apparently her domestic partner..."

Peeta and Katniss looked up as the man entered awkwardly. Their eyes widened, and they got locked in a staring contest, trying to stare the other down.

"Hi, Catnip," the man finally said, looking away.

"Gale." Katniss uttered the name, and Peeta rubbed her shoulder soothingly.

"Mom?" Jasmine frowned. "Who is he?"

"I'm Gale Hawthorne," the man introduced himself. "I'm, er, Johanna's domestic partner."

"Domestic partner?" Finn rose an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Means we live together, pretty boy." Johanna rolled her eyes, but they softened as she turned to Katniss. "I know...who you think caused _her_ death." The teenagers had no idea who the "her" was, but it was enough to make both Gale and Katniss stiffen. "But please let him stay."

Katniss took a shuddering breath, and then turned and buried her face in Peeta's shirt. All these revelations and remembering her past in such short time was being overwhelming. Peeta rubbed her back and answered for her, "He can stay."

Johanna smirked. "Told you," she told Gale, who just shrugged and stared at the teenagers, his eyes lingering on Jasmine and Rye.

"Um...are you our uncle or something?" Rye asked, scanning him. "You look a lot like Mom."

"No." Gale's voice was strangled, so he cleared his throat. "No, I'm not your uncle. What's going on anyways?"

Haymitch rolled his eyes and took another swing. "Kids found a book about their parents' adventure and we're going to read it, boy. Lucky you came, you play a part, don't you?"

Gale stiffened and nodded, sitting down next to Johanna. "Well...I don't know at least three of you," he pointed out. "Do we introduce ourselves or something?"

Jasmine shrugged. "Sure. I'm Jasmine Mellark." She nodded towards her brother. "I'm Rye Mellark," he answered, still looking at Gale suspiciously. Gale swallowed and nodded, his suspicions confirmed. _Looks like Catnip did have kids after all._

"Finn Odair." Finn grinned at the man, seeing no problem in him being here. He just didn't like the way Gale would glance at Jasmine.

"Annie Odair." Annie gave out a small smile. Finn glanced at his mother. He was protective of his mother, too. She was already fragile.

"Haymitch Abernathy." Haymitch took another swing from his bottle.

"Johanna Mason." Gale rolled his eyes at her, and she only smirked at him.

"Peeta Mellark." Peeta rubbed Katniss's back, urging her to look up and say her name. "Katniss Mellark," she said, and Gale nodded slowly.

"So, we going to read these books or not?" Haymitch grumbled.

"Yes, Grandpa Haymitch." Jasmine read out the title. "_The Hunger Games_." She opened the book and began to read.

*::*::*

**Well, that's that. I hope you enjoyed the prologue and I sincerely hope I have all the canon characters acting as they are supposed to act. Did you like? I really hope you did! Read and review!**

**The Understanding OvO,**

**Dream Out Loud 18**


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